Input please.

Do you think it is smart, or justified for parents/guardians to have things like Net nanny, or net watch on their kids computers, or is it in invasion of privacy, or just plain unnecessary? I know that we have a good mix of teens and adults on here so I just wanted to here everyones opinions. For parents, do you personally have some kind of security watch on your kids computers? For teens, if your parents do have one, how do you feel about it?

I'm against it. Period. It's invasion of privacy in my mind, and not a good way to have an honest relationship. I never do on anything "bad" however, I'm rather upset that I found out I have some monitering thing on my laptop. Why would I want my Dad to read what I'm saying to my friends on MSN? Why would I want him to know what I write in my blog? In my mind, it's rather unnecessary. When it comes down to it, there's a million ways in which I could go out and get in some kind of troube. Monitering my computer will not help that, nor will it keep me safe. Overall, I make some pretty responsible choices, and I have no clue as to why he would doubt that. So, there's my teenage angst rant ;)

I think it depends on the situation. If someobody's kid is known for getting into trouble and doing things that they shouldn't be doing, then I think it's justified. But, if the kid was honest, had a good relationship with his/her parents and rarely/never got into trouble then I don't think it's justified. Hopefully that made sense.

Basically, if the parents have a valid reason to do things like that then I'm fine with that. If they don't have a valid reason, I disagree with it.

I think it's justified. Parents have a right to know what their children are doing. I think calling it an "invasion of privacy" goes a little too far.

You shouldn't be concerned if you're not doing anything wrong or something that would upset your parents.

With the number of online predators around, you shouldn't be upset that your parents are trying to keep you safe.

I agree. If you are a trouble maker, and give your parents a reason to not trust you, you should be watched.


IMO, I'm a pretty good kid. I clean the house all the time without being asked, wash the dishes everyday after a family meal, keep the house in pretty good condition, and I never get into trouble. I've only been in trouble once, and it REALLY wasn't my fault, I got sexually harrassed. :rolleyes: My mom still reminds me that she CAN access what I'm doing on the internet though. She just simply says, "I can find out every website you go on, and what you are doing, just so you know." She has no reason to check it out, and she never has, but she lets me know that she can. She also said that when I was going to get a cell phone, that she could see exactly who I was talking to and for how long.

I do think it is definently an invasion of privacy, and is unnessicary in most situations.

When my friend was having issues with her father, she would go on msn and vent to her friends. She later found out that he'd downloaded a program that saved all of her msn conversations. I can't even imagine being her and how embarassed and angry I would have been.

Some thing should be kept private, in my opinion. I can understand that some people are wary of their children talking to predators, but that doesn't give you a right give up your child's right to privacy -- it just means that YOU need to make sure you've done everything you can to ensure that your child understands the dangers and risks of internet chatting. If you feel the need to SPY on your child, you obviously aren't doing something right. All it does is show the lack of parenting you've done and the lack of trust you have in your child.

I will agree that parents should give teens a certain level of privacy, BUT that privacy is a priviledge, not a right.

I know my mom used to read my e-mails so I stuck a passward on it. I do NOT want my mom reading stuff I say on the net. the only trouble I have gotten into is with breeders, when I have outright and publicly confronted them on their practices lol oh and quiet a ew people have threatend to sue me, and when I was underage they called my mom to let her know they were ready to sue me :o but really, I am an EXTREMLY private person, my best friend is the only one who truly knows anything about me, I am not close with my parents, I tell them nothing about myself, and I like it that way, if they were to spy on what I said, reading all my conversations all my privacy would be gone, I would no longer feel like there is a place I could be myself anymore, I would likley avoid typing anything at all, and only lurk, I just HATE being watched, I couldent handle it in school either, if the teacher walked by, I would automaticly cover my work and stop everything till they were gone.

Now that I think more about it, I have no problem with showing him who I talk to, what sites I'm on etc. I just really would rather not have him READING my conversations. I think that that's where it crosses the line. It's not even that I'm talking about anything really private, it's just, I rather not have him reading about who I like, what my friends did on the weekend, and what I think on various subjects. It's embarresing. With that being said, this isn't a massive issue as I'm not 'in the wrong'. I was just wondering peoples opinions.

If there's a reason, then yes It's okay, but if they're just spying on you to see what you say, absolutely not. My mom doesn't know how to work a computer very well, so I don't have a program on mine. I'm trusted, I'm a good kid, and she trusts me. She wouldn't invade my privacy.

Like others said I think it all depends on the situation in the family and with the child. If their child has proven themselves to be trustworthy and they have open communication with their parents then I don't see much need for them to be spyed on. I don't like the idea of recording peoples conversations without just cause, I think that crosses the line.

It depends on the situation and the child's history. I think if you are under 18 then what your parents say, goes, period. If you aren't doing anything to get you in trouble, then it shouldn't matter if your parents have those programs on the computer or not. The ones who get really upset are the ones who have something to hide.

Most computer smart kids can work around that sort of "protection", if you can't then don't say anything that you wouldn't want your parents to read. I also think it's an invasion of privacy to read kids emails and conversations without a very good reason.

As long as children live in their parents home for FREE - parents have every and any right to do whatever they want with the internet/computer.

I've always told Katie that I trust her 100% until she shows me evidence to the contrary and then I will be on her like a ton of bricks!

I would certainly rather have her in the same room msning her mates than hanging around outside with them

I said " no" My dad puts it on but ( :p ) I put on a blocker. I never go on any wierd sites, but I still don't think it's his buisness what sites I'm on. If I didn't have my blocker, he could read what I'm saying right now. ( and so could my brother ) Plus, both of them could access my files. ( journal, diary, pics, ect. )

Reasons that it IS your parent's business which sites you are visiting:

They are legally responsible for your actions. (Downloading music, p2p filesharing, etc. makes your parents legally liable should you download or share anything that violates copyrights)

They are legally responsible for your safety.

If you download a virus, who pays for the cleanup?

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Originally Posted by Jessika

It depends on the situation and the child's history. I think if you are under 18 then what your parents say, goes, period. If you aren't doing anything to get you in trouble, then it shouldn't matter if your parents have those programs on the computer or not. The ones who get really upset are the ones who have something to hide.

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I have said it before, but, you may just well be the most mature 'kid' I know! Those are my thoughts, exactly. My 'job' as a parent isn't to make you like me, it is to protect you, and raise you with the skills you need to make it in this world.

I don't have a 'net nanny' on my computer, and I would not want one. I don't visit any 'bad' sites or get involved in anything I find slightly fishy on the internet, so I suppose it would not be such a big problem for me. However, I really despise anyone watching me type or read anything on the computer, especially when I'm posting on Pet Talk or talking to PT members on Gabbly. Some things I write may be personal, and as the mark of a stereotypical teenager ;) , I really don't want my parents to know EVERYTHING that I think or do and I don't want them to be reading conversations I've had with my friends. Also, I would probably take it as kind of an insult that my parents didn't trust me and felt like they had to watch my every move like I'm some naive little toddler.

However though, if there was a cause for concern in any family I can see why it would be a good idea.

I agree with what Lady's Human said. The parents ARE responsiable. It is their computer/phone/cable service/house so they should monitor what their children are doing rather they are on the computer or out in the yard.

You can bet parents of missing children that went off to meet someone they met on a computer WISHES they has monitored what their child was doing.

If I was a teenager, I would probably be saying it is an invasion of privacy, but now I am a bit older and I see things a bit differently.

When I have children I would use some sort of monitoring program on the computer and let my child know it was there. The risks are pretty high these days. :(

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Originally Posted by Cataholic

I have said it before, but, you may just well be the most mature 'kid' I know! Those are my thoughts, exactly. My 'job' as a parent isn't to make you like me, it is to protect you, and raise you with the skills you need to make it in this world.

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Aw thank you very much :) i've had the pleasure of having a sister much younger than myself so over the years I've sort of helped "raise" her so I have a much different viewpoint on things than most kids my age would. I'd like to think so, anyway!

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Originally Posted by Lady's Human

Reasons that it IS your parent's business which sites you are visiting:

They are legally responsible for your actions. (Downloading music, p2p filesharing, etc. makes your parents legally liable should you download or share anything that violates copyrights)

They are legally responsible for your safety.

If you download a virus, who pays for the cleanup?

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I do ;) I payed for the laptop too.

There's some very good points here though.

I didn't vote because I am undecided and there was no option like that on the poll.

My parents trust me enough not to so such a bad thing on the internet and I don't have a "Net nanny". I agree that it is an invasion of privacy BUT if the kid has a history of viewing bad sites, causing trouble on, ect. then I think this should be done until the kid learns right from wrong. If you have it on your laptop/computer and you are very good online then you shouldn't be worried about it. If I was a parent, I would only do this if my kid was doing something bad on the net and I couldn't trust them.

I wouldn't really mind it because I don't do anything on the internet to make my parents mad, but no I dont have it.

depends on the person. My mom has told be she trusts me in a lot of things and she is right too, I have a strong conciense.(sp?) If the kid is known to do things like that then I think the parents should.